2011 started with a bang here for us at Old Schoolhouse Brewery. We are experiencing our busiest January on record - both beer production and foot traffic.
We have lots of fun and interesting brew stuff going on so far this year. I brewed my first Barleywine in over a year and it's looking awesome ... thus far. My first batch of Barleywine in 2009 started its life as an Imperial IPA, very hop-forward with an underlying caramel malt finish. After a couple months the hops faded and the underlying caramel malts became a very prominent caramel, toffee-like flavor in the beer, thus making it a very suitable Barleywine. We are still hanging on to our last keg of the 2009 Barleywine - not sure when it will be tapped. The 2011 Barleywine I just brewed has been tweeked a bit from the 2009 version. The 2011 Barleywine has a higher caramel malt content, more complex malt bill, and more mellow hopping scheme. I am having a hard time waiting to drink this bad boy. Usually a beer is drinkable 3 weeks after the brew date; this Barleyine will take at least 6 weeks. Special thanks on this brew go out to my dad, Casey, and my younger brother, Evan. My dad helped me during the brew day and Evan helped look after my yeast while I was having fun at the Ellensburg Winterhop Fest.
Speaking of Winterhop 2011 - what a blast! The Winterhop Brewfest in Ellensburg is one of my favorites year after year. It is always sold out and offers a very diverse crowd. In addition to my dad and me, my older brother Jason and older sister Kelly represented OSB at the brewfest. We served Hooligan Stout, Uncle Big's Brown, and the Ruud Awakening IPA. The feedback we received was good with many repeat customers.
My friend, Chris, from Snipes Mountain Brewery told me about the 2011 hop shortage. Unfortunately, we have been using the highest demand hops in both the Ruud Awakening IPA and our Imperial IPA -- in mass quantities. We are unable to get some of these varieties and are in the process of making careful substitutions knowing the hop flavors will be a little different but still very tasty. The first batch with the new hop scheme will be drinkable late February. We had to get a little scrappy and stock up on some of the key hops we needed so we will be good for quite awhile.
For those of you who don't know me well, I am a die-hard steelhead flyfisherman. Not that fishing conditions were great, but let's just say my brother Evan and I hammered our fair share of big meats so far in 2011.
I am looking forward to some fun brewing in February 2011. Imperial Stout will be brewed once again, so get it while you can!
- Blaze Ruud, Lead Brewer
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